


In the Dark I See You

by Ice_Rain



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Blow Jobs, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, M/M, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Post-Mosaic Timeline (The Magicians: A Life in the Day), Semi-Public Sex, The Muntjac, alternate version of 3x06, but some plot and a lot of feelings, queliot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:48:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24939325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ice_Rain/pseuds/Ice_Rain
Summary: Eliot goes with Quentin on the boating quest for the Abyss key. Quentin’s upset about something, and nothing Eliot does, including ridiculous flirting, is cheering him up. A fluffy post-mosaic fic, where Eliot confronts his feelings for Q (after their conversation shown in 4x05). And he finally gets to have sex on a boat.
Relationships: Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh
Comments: 8
Kudos: 129





	In the Dark I See You

**Author's Note:**

> I am tragically late to this fandom, having binged all 5 season over the course of one week during lockdown. And I have a lot of feelings. I am obsessed with queliot and I so wanted them to have a happy ending. But alas. Now I will spend my days reading and writing fics of what could have been.

Eliot should have been happier to be on this boating quest. He was alone with Quentin (well, also Benedict and the rest of the crew), and having an exciting adventure. But his thoughts were still on Margo. He’d wanted to stay with Margo to help her with her new husband situation. But when the Fairy Queen caught wind that the Muntjac was leaving on official business, she’d taken the opportunity to _insist_ that Eliot go as well. Eliot was pretty sure it was to get Margo alone so no one could help her fend off her child-groom’s advances.

Eliot knew Margo was strong and clever and would probably be fine without him. But he still worried. And he was maybe accidentally taking out his frustrations on everyone around him. That even included Quentin, who was in the middle of saying something probably important Eliot should have been paying attention to.

“… so we’ll make sure to keep to that sailing pattern so we don’t get too lost. It’s gonna be pitch black once we reach the abyss.”

“Mmhmm,” Eliot said. “Right, glad to see you seem to have it all handled.” Eliot turned away from Q and started pacing around the large area below deck. He didn’t have mental space right now for thinking about much else other than getting Margo out of her situation and getting the Fairy Queen off their backs.

“Right, ok, well I’ll just...” Quentin trailed off, and Eliot was brought out of his thoughts by the sad tone in Quentin’s voice.

Come to think of it, Quentin had been sulking almost as much as Eliot had been this entire trip. Which was odd, since Quentin had seemed so excited before they set off. It almost seemed like Q was avoiding him, but it was hard to tell since Eliot had kind of been avoiding, well, everyone. Was Q worried about Margo too? Eliot found that unlikely. Quentin cared about Margo, but he was more detached from the day-to-day dramas of being royalty. 

“You ok?” Eliot asked, turning back to Quentin.

Quentin turned away quickly, shouting over his shoulder, “Yup, just gonna go check on Benedict, make sure everything’s ready.” Quentin disappeared up the stairs.

Right. It was probably about something happening back on Earth. As hard as it must be for Quentin to keep track of what was happening in Fillory, Eliot was sure there was plenty happening on Earth that he wasn’t aware of. And if Quentin didn’t want to talk about it, well, maybe Eliot could provide enough distraction to make Q feel better. There was nothing he could do for Margo right now, but he could at least be there for Quentin.

A little while later, Eliot went to the deck to see Quentin sitting on the edge of the boat, his legs dangling off.

“You’ve been holding up well, Coldwater. The first time I was on this ship I hurled for ages before getting used to it.”

Quentin didn’t really look up, just gave a small forced smile and went back to looking out at the water. Well, in hindsight, maybe talking about puke wasn’t the best plan for cheering someone up. 

“Maybe you’re secretly descended from pirates. How much do you know about your dad anyway? Maybe the model plane obsession is just a cover story for his secret love of boats. Although I doubt genetics has much to do with anything. God knows I’m no farming prodigy, and we both know Teddy had no talent for tile artwork or selling fruit.”

It hurt to talk about the Mosaic timeline, despite the fond memories. Eliot knew things couldn’t be like they were, but he couldn’t act weird about it. He needed to get used to the idea of Quentin just being his best friend. And being able to joke and talk about that timeline was important for that. Eliot was perfectly capable of compartmentalizing.

Quentin turned his head away so Eliot couldn’t see his reaction, and then stood up, his mouth a hard line. “Well, I’m gonna go practice my sailing knots. Without magic, have to actually learn them.”

Ok, so maybe talking about the Mosaic was a bad idea after all? Quentin probably missed Teddy, Eliot supposed, and Arielle. Maybe it was still too fresh for him.

“Ok, well I’m gonna… not… knot,” Eliot said as a terrible attempt at a joke. But also, he had absolutely no interest in actually learning how to sail. He had people for that. Quentin just raised his eyebrows a bit and nodded dismissively, moving to the other end of the ship. Eliot went below deck to pass some time.

Later, Eliot found Quentin in a pile of knots reading some book on sailing. He’d really committed. He could see Benedict a little ways off, doing something… ship-related. “God that looks boring,” Eliot said, squatting down and scooching up close next to Quentin to read over his shoulder. Eliot read about two lines. “Yup, I’m bored already.”

Quentin set the book down and stood up, walking to the edge of the boat. “We should be reaching the abyss soon,” Quentin said.

“Should be fun, I mean who wouldn’t want to go to a place called _the abyss_ ,” Eliot said, standing up to get next to Quentin.

“Yup,” Quentin said, slightly popping the p. Eliot waited for Quentin to say something else, but he just remained silent. Well, what a thrilling conversation this was turning out to be.

“You know, I nearly lost my virginity on a boat,” Eliot said with an eyebrow wiggle. “Turned out, it wasn’t really his parents’ boat and we were, ah, interrupted.” He turned to Q, dramatically batting his eyelashes. “I’m still waiting for the day I get to have sex on a boat.” Terrible flirting would always cheer Q up at Brakebills, so Eliot was laying it on thick. “If having sex on a plane is the mile-high club, then on the sea I’d like to think it’s the league-deep club. And you know I can go deep.”

Eliot waggled his eyebrows, expecting at least some evidence of a grin on Quentin’s face, but Q’s expression was hard to read. If anything he just looked vaguely annoyed. He seemed like he was going to say something, but then he just sighed and said, “I’m gonna go downstairs.”

“Ok, Q, what’s wrong? Come on, it’s me, you know you can tell me anything.”

Quentin let out a mirthless laugh. He ran his hands over his face and pursed his lips in clear frustration as he placed his hands on his hips. With a jolt, the body language immediately reminded Eliot of an argument they’d had in the Mosaic timeline. It was funny how the littlest things could suddenly summon an incredibly vivid memory from that timeline, despite it usually all being so fuzzy. Eliot immediately did his best to push down all the feelings attempting to surface. 

Quentin glanced sideways and said, almost to himself, “Yeah, sure, except you’re the one person I can’t talk to about this.”

It was so quiet that Eliot wasn’t sure he’d heard it right. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He had no idea what that could possible mean. His brain started going through all the possibilities he could think of. Sometimes Quentin needed a little prodding.

“Q… is this about something going on back on Earth? I know I’m not super up-to-date with all that, but I can still listen. Or if it’s about some high-king decision I made you don’t agree with, you know I value your opinion, right? You’re king too.” _The one person I can’t talk to about this_. Eliot kept trying to generate other possibilities. “Or if you’re mad at Margo about something, I know she’s my best friend but I swear I can be Switzerland. Or if you’re mad at me - “

“Look, El, just forget it, ok? I’m fine.”

Seeing that Q was getting more upset, Eliot instinctually reached out to touch his arm. Q immediately took a step back, dodging Eliot’s hand. Eliot’s eyes widened in shock as his hand fell back to his side. He couldn’t remember a single time that Quentin had avoided his touch. He was refusing to meet Eliot’s eyes.

“Q…? Please. Is this…” he glanced to the side, lowering his voice to softly ask, “Is this about me? Are you mad at me about something?” 

Q sighed and put his hands in his pockets. “Look, I just… I just need some time, ok? I know I was the one who wanted to go on this boating quest with you, I just…” He trailed off and flailed his hands a bit. He sped up, trying to get the next words out before he had a chance to overthink it. “I didn’t expect it to hurt this much being around you, and I just… like… I’m perfectly capable of handling rejection, and I promise I’m not gonna be weird about it forever, I just… like… I need time, ok?”

Eliot’s brain was fighting against processing the words. “Q… “

“No, it’s not your job to comfort me, ok? Look, can we please just… not make this any weirder than it already is?”

“Wait, Q… this… “ Eliot gulped, and Quentin finally looked up to see Eliot’s eyes piercing into him. “This is something you still want?” he asked carefully, his head cocked slightly to the side.

Q looked at Eliot like he’d just suggested they let all their friends die - anger mixed with shock and disbelief. He sounded completely pissed when he replied, “What do you mean.”

“I just, I just thought. I know we just suddenly got bombarded with all those memories and it was a lot. But I thought that after, you wouldn’t…” Did Quentin still want to be with him? Eliot had to be misinterpreting something here. There’s no way this beautiful, kind, brave, incredible man would actually want to be with Eliot.

The effect after remembering the timeline had been intense, with 50 years of memories and feelings injected at once, but they’d started to fade quickly into something more fuzzy and abstract. Eliot could still remember pieces, and his love for Q was still very much dominating his emotions and thoughts. But Quentin wouldn’t have chosen Eliot given a real choice. He took a wife even in Fillory. And Eliot had been fine with that, he’d known he and Q had still loved each other. But Quentin had been stuck with him then. A romantic relationship with him… it didn’t make sense that Q would want here at all. He’d been positive Quentin had come to the same conclusion after having had the time to think about it. 

Eliot was startled out of his thoughts when Q nearly shouted, “Well, I’m sorry I can feel something for longer than a couple minutes, El, not everyone has your great immunity to emotion. I don’t think it’s so unreasonable that 50 years with you would affect me for longer than, like, a day. Just… I’m going to go help Benedict.”

Quentin turned and started to walk away. Fuck fuck fuck, Eliot panicked. What just happened. Eliot reached out to grab Q’s arm, and Q whipped around, fury evident on his face.

“El, stop, leave me the fuck alone!” This time he did shout, loudly, and everyone on the ship turned to stare at them. Eliot couldn’t remember ever being yelled at by Q like this. He was taken completely aback and felt tears pricking his eyes. Eliot hated showing vulnerability like this, and now Q and everyone else on this ship was watching him. He couldn’t let them see him upset like this. He started to turn away.

Quentin noticed Eliot’s reaction and his face immediately softened. “Look, I didn’t mean to yell. Just, you can’t get everything you want, El. I can’t… you might be able to immediately go back to normal with me, but I can’t just yet.” Quentin crossed his arms protectively. “You just have to understand that and give me some space.”

Eliot grabbed Quentin’s hands. “ _I_ _don’t_ _want_ things to go back to normal. But I thought you would. So I didn’t… Q I was afraid… I want… can we just…” Eliot was having an extremely hard time handling his emotions, and trying not to cry and also form coherent sentences was not working out.

Quentin didn’t pull away from Eliot this time, but looked utterly confused. “El, can you please talk in complete sentences? I have no idea what you’re saying.”

Eliot bit his lip. “I…” and then he made a split second decision. He really, really hoped he wasn’t misunderstanding what was going on here. “Words are hard,” he said. And then in one swift motion he moved a hand to the back of Q’s neck and leaned in, kissing him hard on the mouth. And it just felt so right, like he was exactly where he was supposed to be. And he didn’t want to pull away, but he did after just a few seconds because he was worried he’d misinterpreted something and now Quentin would be even more angry at him.

Quentin looked at him flabbergasted. “What…“

And Eliot hated talking about feelings, especially his feelings, but he knew this was important. And this time he was going to try not fucking it up. “I love you, ok? And if… if you feel the same way about me, still, then… then there’s no reason for us not to give this shot, right?”

Quentin still looked confused, and then like he was about to say something. But instead he grabbed Eliot’s hair and roughly pulled him down for another kiss. And in the moment Eliot forgot that their entire crew had been staring at them this entire time. He deepened the kiss, moving slowly toward the wall of the cabin and lightly pushing Q up against it. The feel of Q’s tongue was enough to make him let out an involuntary moan, and as he pushed his body against Q he could feel him starting to get hard. Fuck. Eliot sucked in a hitched breath at that, pulled back and looked at Q. Quentin’s pupils were huge and dark, eyes wide, lips slightly swollen, breath fast and unsteady. It was the sexiest thing Eliot had ever seen. Eliot rested his forehead against Q’s and brought his lips close, just hovering above his lips without touching, savoring the moment.

Quentin let out a loud groan of frustration and pulled Eliot’s head closer, just starting to kiss him again, when they heard, “Umm, excuse me, Your Majesties?”

Eliot was so turned on right now he didn’t think it was possible to focus on anything else. He turned away from Q, but moved his hand to his lower back, keeping them close as if Quentin might disappear if he lost physical contact for even a moment. He faced Benedict and didn’t even try to hide the annoyance in his voice when saying, “Yes, Benedict, what is it?”

“It’s just, I thought you’d ought to know, we’re about to enter the abyss. It’s about to get very, very dark.”

Sure enough, there was a huge wall of black in front of them, and within seconds the ship started passing through it. Eliot couldn’t see anything more than a few feet in front of him.

“Ah, yes, thank you Benedict.” Eliot said.

Q leaned into Eliot and whispered, “You know he’s right, it is _very_ dark.”

“What did you have in mind?” Eliot asked.

“Hmmmm,” Quentin said, closing his lips lightly over Eliot’s on the “mm”. Eliot could feel him smile. And God, just feeling that smile made Eliot’s heart do cartwheels. Eliot couldn’t help but smile himself, which accidentally turned into a huge grin he’d normally be embarrassed by, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care right now. 

Quentin slowly undid Eliot’s top shirt and vest buttons, looking directly into his eyes, and very slowly and softly danced his fingers over the small bit of exposed chest. Eliot sucked in a breath. That small of a touch should not have been having this big of an effect on him. Eliot was a grown ass man damnit, not a teenager with his first hookup. But fuck, he didn’t think he was going to last another 30 seconds without someone’s dick going into someone’s mouth. And now Quentin was kissing Eliot’s neck, slowly and deliberately. His tongue darted out right below Eliot’s ear, and then he nibbled on Eliot’s earlobe so gently and started to pull with his teeth and...

“Fuck, Q” Eliot said in the most embarrassing tone of voice he’d ever heard escape from his own mouth. It was breathy and pleading and shaking and fuck this he needed to do _something_ , he couldn’t take this anymore. He thrusted his hips into Q seeking any friction he could get, and he did it again, and again, and he knew he needed to stop and he couldn’t just literally rub himself against Quentin until he came because what the fuck would Q think of him then, but he was having such a hard time stopping. This was absolutely ridiculous.

But Quentin looked positively entranced by the effect he was having on Eliot. He started unbuttoning El’s pants and reached his hand down. And fuck, his hand was around Eliot and he was already wet from precome and Q’s hand was sliding slowly down his length. Eliot moaned so loudly he was positive everyone on the ship could hear him, but he didn’t care.

He grabbed Q’s hair and kissed him intensely, shuddering as Quentin continued to move his hand. He started sucking on Quentin’s neck, digging his hands deeper into his hair and pulling, hard. And he was worried for a moment he was being too rough, but then Quentin said “Holy fuck El, don’t stop,” and that was all Eliot needed to hear.

He brought one hand down to Quentin’s pants and unbuttoned them. And as he was doing that, he felt how hard Quentin was and he needed, more than anything, Quentin’s dick in his mouth right the fuck now. He got down on his knees and slowly traced his tongue around the head, eliciting stuttered gasps from Quentin, and then closed his mouth around it. He tried his best to somewhat think about technique, but he was just so fucking turned on right now and he just wanted more and more and soon Quentin’s dick was hitting the back of his throat. Quentin’s hands were gripping his hair hard. And Eliot didn’t think, he just licked and sucked and listened to the noises coming from Quentin that were getting louder and louder. And then suddenly Q sounded more muffled, and Eliot looked up and Quentin was _literally biting his own arm_ to keep himself quiet, and fuck if that wasn’t the hottest thing ever.

Eliot was painfully hard right now, and he honestly thought he might just come from giving Quentin a blowjob without any other stimulation. Eliot let out a moan, and he heard Quentin say desperately, “El, wait, I’m gonna… shit El I can’t…” and then Quentin was coming down Eliot’s throat with an unmuffled shout.

Yeah, everyone heard that.

Eliot kept sucking slowly through Q’s orgasm, feeling each contraction against his lips. When Q was done, Eliot stood up and Q’s knees started to give out. Eliot grabbed his hips gently to steady him.

And there was heavy breathing for a moment while Q recovered, and then he pulled Eliot close and whispered into his ear, “My turn.”

Quentin switched their positions, pushing Eliot against the wall, but there was something gentler about this now. He knelt down and started slowly, painfully slowly, planting kisses to Eliot’s legs, his balls, and finally his dick. And while Eliot loved how fucking intimate it all felt, he was probably about 15 seconds from coming and his cock was throbbing and he couldn’t help but plead, “Q, please, I need…”

And Q obliged, taking Eliot into his mouth all at once. Eliot gasped, and as predicted, it wasn’t long at all before he couldn’t take it anymore, crying out, “Q, fuck!” And then he was coming so hard in Q’s mouth that Quentin couldn’t quite keep his mouth in place. Quentin got back onto his feet and they stood side to side, backs against the wall, catching their breath.

Eliot pulled Quentin into a long hug, gently stroking his back. And having Q tucked into his chest felt so perfect. After a few minutes, they heard Benedict again. “Um, Your Majesties, I didn’t think it uh… prudent… earlier, but the ship is equipped with a very capable lighting system. To see through all the blackness. Is uhh,” he cleared his throat, “is now an alright time to light it?”

Eliot felt Quentin laugh against his chest.

“Yes Benedict, thank you. Light away.” Eliot said, his voice taking on his best kingly tone despite everything. Quentin started to pull away, but Eliot held him tight as the Muntjac’s lights came on one by one. 


End file.
